1.1 The Bloodless Soldier

A group of soldiers return from overseas service – but they have brought a terrible evil back with them. As death strikes on the streets of London, Sergeant Quick calls upon the help of Professor Litefoot, while an old enemy lurks in the shadows. Jago and Litefoot are on the trail of the Bloodless Soldier – and tragedy will hit close to them…

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Styre
on April 17, 2017 at 8:29 PM

JAGO & LITEFOOT: THE BLOODLESS SOLDIER

Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot have always been among the most beloved guest characters in Doctor Who, and the stellar reception of the Companion Chronicle “The Mahogany Murderers” further proved it. It’s therefore not surprising that Big Finish would give the “investigators of infernal incidents” their own spinoff, and it all begins here, with Justin Richards’ “The Bloodless Soldier,” the first story in the first box set.

Oddly, “The Mahogany Murderers” is the actual pilot for this range, as it (re)introduces us to the principal characters and their roles. “The Bloodless Soldier” just assumes you know who everyone is, which strikes me as a mistake for the first story in a new range. Big Finish has a habit of assuming that their listeners buy everything they release, and that assumption has evidently been going on for a while. As far as the actual story goes, it’s pretty simple: it’s basically a werewolf story. A group of soldiers returning from overseas brings their convalescing captain to shore – a monster scratched him, and now he’s acting increasingly violent and animalistic. Yes, he’s turning into a monster himself, one that drains the blood of its victims – and soon he’s loose in London and it’s up to Jago and Litefoot to track him down. Everything rolls along predictably until the end, which is stunning – Ellie’s brother kills the monster and saves Jago and Litefoot, but is bitten in the process, and the only solution available to our heroes is to kill him before he fully transforms. This is the sort of situation in a Doctor Who story where the Doctor devises a new, unexpected solution – but here, Jago shoots the unfortunate soldier in the head, killing him. Christopher Benjamin is amazing in this moment – Jago sounds for all the world as though this moment will haunt him until his dying day. The scene also sets up potential future drama with Ellie, should she ever discover the true events of her brother’s demise. In sum, “The Bloodless Soldier” doesn’t play as a pilot, but assuming you know the main players, it’s a fine start to the range with an excellent ending.